Our client had purchased a large, diverse property in Eastern Washington with the idea of doing some sort of sustainability-based project. We were brought out to the site for an initial assessment to identify a variety of potential options based on the topography, land features, climate, and other parameters. From there the Montanye Ranch team could move forward and develop a vision to guide their development process. We spent a couple of days exploring the whole site and identifying significant areas with potential for special uses (e.g. microclimates, solar gain, frost action, etc.). From this we created a map with our recommendations for each area we explored along with the potentials for that area. We also provided a summary of site constraints & opportunities and a list of guiding questions to help with the visioning process. The existence of so many microclimates made this property special. We were able to identify areas for dwellings, fruit & nut tree trials, field crops, and a natural building school. Any or all of these components could be implemented depending on the results of the Montanye Ranch team's vision development process. |
